Ministers’ housing claims up 17% as rorts continue

Weren’t Bill ‘Double Dipton’ English and other ministers caught rorting the housing allowance system last year? Didn’t the Government revamp the system by giving ministers capped allowances, supposedly to save money and stop rorts? Why then are we, as I predicted, paying more than ever while ministers blatantly rip us off?

Bill ‘Double Dipton’ English’s landlord obviously took pity on him after his housing scandal because he’s no longer claiming $914 a week rent. He claims zero now. Jonathan Coleman, too has suddenly discovered he doesn’t have any housing costs to claim either, despite claiming $477 a week in the first six months of last year. The fact that their claims have evaporated after the rort scandal is more evidence they were never legitimate at all.

Other ministers have also been able to magically reduce their rent claims, which is really lucky: Judith Collins from $886 a week to $775, Anne Tolley from $847 a week to $719, Wayne Mapp from $726 to $500, Paula Bennett from $719, Rodney Hide from $732 to $719, (hmm, that’s a popular rent, eh? We’ll come back to that), Philip Heatley from $946 to $575. Isn’t it awfully convenient that these ministers are able to cut the amount they’re claiming after an expenses scandal. But does the new amount they’re claiming bear any relation to reality? Again, the suspicion has to be they were claiming illegitimate expenses under the old system and are claiming the most they can now, regardless of their actual costs.

Meanwhile, eight ministers have actually increased their housing cost claim: Murray McCully from $495 a week to $719, Tim Groser from $344 to $719, Steven Joyce from nothing to $719, Georgina te Heuheu from $306 to $719, Pansy Wong from $676 to $719, Kate Wilkinson from $694 to $719, John Carter from $607 to $719, Nathan Guy from nothing to $575.

Hmm, I think we’ve found what Lockwood Smith didn’t want us to see. All those ministers claiming $719 a week are claiming precisely the maximum that they can under the new rules. It seems highly doubtful that all that second group of ministers suddenly had huge rent increases, or that the first group had big rent cuts. No, this looks the ministers are simply claiming as much as they can, no doubt for most of them their actual housing costs are much lower.

The same applies for the four ministers all claiming $575 a week each, which bears no resemblance to what they were claiming before. They are clearly claiming as much taxpayer dosh as they can within the new rules, regardless of their actual housing costs.

You can count on two fingers the ministers who aren’t Wellington-based or in Crown-owned houses and haven’t maxed out their housing claim: Wayne Mapp and Jonathan Coleman. I’ll leave you to decide which fingers.

As a result of this mass rorting, the cost of Wellington housing for ministers has ballooned from $9782 a week in the first six months of last year to $11,484 – a huge 17% increase in just over a year.

We were promised that this new system would save us $200,000 a year while preventing Double Dipton-style rip offs. I warned that this new system would be ripped off and would cost us more. I haven’t been proved wrong; the ministers are clearly rorting us still and it will cost us over $60,000 more this year than last.

What we need is a PM with standards and the backbone to bring this gaggle of rorting ministers to account. They’ve been on notice and their behaviour has actually got worse. Now heads should roll.

Last year Trevor Mallard postedJohn Armstrong’s article on the subject. Armstrong put the cost at $24 K per year before his big blow out when he got back on the ministerial benches.

Given the Member for Wallace 1990-1996, and then Clutha Southland would have been claiming that allowance from day one – it would all add up to near half a million. Which is a fair bit of money to pay Bill English to live in his own house.

Then there is the whole setting up of his family trust, so he didn’t have an interest in it, which, perhaps coincidentally, meant he could claim more allowance around living in his own home. Article linked here.

Bill English never explained why that move was necessary. On the Right, Cactus Kate thought this move was a vehicle for rorting. Quote linked here.

“I’m perfectly relaxed about these claims.” says John Key, smiling & waving to passing tourists, interviewed today at his holiday home in Hawaii. “My ministers are following the Cabinet manual so I’m not worried about the cost to the taxpayer after all my Hobbits are in need of subsidies just like the country’s new owners, Warner Bros.”

This seems a common result of all the nit-pickers trying to save the taxpayer a few dollars … this pre-occupation with saving actually costs and helps to destroy the systems effectiveness.
As a friend told me the other day .. he could use $25,000 for a machine to assist him to cure people in our public system but no the bean counters would rather take on another of their ilk to count every cent and meanwhile sick people suffer longer for lack of proper treatment.
So what I’m saying is that if people had not cried about DD’s perks of old we would have saved more in the long run.
I would prefer to see some waste or rorts rather than the failure of the system through excessive accounting.

It is human nature and I’m sure most would react in a similar way except for paragons of virtue and altruism such as yourself Marty 🙂

In any case I never considered they were ripping us off but rather accepting the perks of a highly stressful and difficult job. We apparently have now set a limit and they are claiming to that limit. So challenge the limit but not the claimants.

In any case I never considered they were ripping us off but rather accepting the perks of a highly stressful and difficult job.

Yep. Sounds like the rationale Richard Fuld used after he walked away with US$484M in accumulated pay and bonuses after destroying Lehman Bros and tens of billions of global value.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that MPs are particularly well paid, no siree. But taking the piss like Karori based Double Dipton, claiming for living in Southland when he hasn’t lived there forever? That’s bad.

Actually, it’s not. Most people (~80% IIRC) are actually honest and would most likely claim the proper amount (linky to quick and nasty study but I’ve also read proper research that says the same thing). The people who claim more than they should are not the norm and are, at the very least, mildy psychopathic.

Bluddgers the lot of them lowest of the low, taking from us hard working tax payers to line their own pockets, they sit around all day doing nothing, eating food that I cant put on my table, I bet they have sky TV to. Getting fatter and fatter drinking alcohol bloody disgusting bluddgers.

Don’t get me started on their lack of parenting skills either what do they do with those snotty nosed kids that they produce, send them off to boarding schools that we subsidize . Bluddgers low life scum sucking of you and me.It makes me so mad aye. I bet they claim everything they can to really max the system out, cars, food, travel, accommodation bloody scum.

Well put CGE. The following may not be directly related, but I learnt recently that the Nats run a “candidates college” where potential politicians are “trained”. That explains a lot doesn’t it. Brain-washed robots!

They learn how to spin the facts and believe what they are saying (Hekia Parata on Back-benches last night was a good example). They are imbued with a sense of superiority and entitlement which enables them to rort the systems with no feelings of guilt or remorse. They think it’s their right. And when the rest of us complain we’re told it’s our own fault.

Perhaps the saddest aspect is that so many, many people still can’t see through them.

They shouldn’t be rorting and trying to avoid being noticed, and they should be held accountable under transparency. However, it isn’t the biggest political issue we have.

The hypocrisy of many on the right is staggering though. There were constant howls about the little misdimeanours of the last Labour-led government, and escalation of its relevance to claims of the Clark government being an undemocratic dicatorship. So many on the right are silent about the widespread ways in which this NACT government is undermining democracy, ACTUALLY putting though laws that make dictatorship ACTUALLY possible, as well as relative silence about the NACT spending rorts. It shows how much they relie on spin and distortion & don’t give a s***t for democracy and transparency.

Still say the best thing we could do is build an apartment complex that the MPs who live outside Wellington can stay in while in Wellington. Stop giving them actual money as it becomes a vehicle that they can then rip us off through.

I was not thinking double bunking but now that you have suggested it the mind boggles. Jim you are awful but I do like you as Dick Emery use to say.Ha we need a good political satire show its sadly lacking at present.

Remember Phil Goff and his apartment that he owned while living in another the government paid for?
He told us he would be selling it off shortly.
Earlier this year I asked on Red Alert whether he had sold it like he promised, after his criticism of other National MP’s for the same abuse. I was subsequently banned from Red Alert for even asking.
Turns out he still owns the apartment (Look it up on Companies Office under Mansfield Towers)
Hypocritical much?

“Phil Goff also rents out his Wellington flat whilst living elsewhere in the capital on the public purse. When asked by ONE News why he doesn’t just live in the flat and not claim public money, Goff said “Because the flat is currently tenanted and I plan to sell it.” August 2009

Still listed as holding shares in the Mansfield Apartment Building in Thorndon.

Did you read the post, or is it because you read it that you are dragging up irrelevant nonsense?

Even if it was relevant to the post, you haven’t provided a link to Goff criticising people for doing what he was doing. Maybe he did, there are plenty doing what he is doing afterall, but English got the most flack, and he was doing something completely different.

So even if Goff is a hypocrite, which you haven’t shown, why does that matter? Goff isn’t here, and he didn’t write the post. Goff didn’t rewrite the rules and oversee a 17% increase, which is what the post is about.

a lot more than 60 000 and nothing left over? what – over 2000 a week? baffles me too
we could try and work out where all your money goes ay?
any holidays overseas in the course of the year? investment portfolio?
meals out?
shows, concerts?
high tech toys? pricey hobbies like offroading, boating?
guest wings in yr palace, I mean house. Private schooling, horse riding? skiing trips?
bach at the beach?
eight kids? sponsors of a hospital ward in Vanuatu.
meat five night a week, leisurely cafe brunches on the weekend

some or none of the above? c’mon we can do this – expensive drug habit? gambling? addiction to prada?

I brought up one and a half children on a DPB, which came to under $20 000 a year. (What I mean by one and a half is that I got “paid” to bring up one of them, but had the other one with me occasionally. Looking back, I don’t know how I managed but I did!

Dear Vicky32 and KJT
Rest assured – it may not be obvious to some yet but Jonkey is doing everything he can to ensure you are raising your kids to be well groomed to cross over the ditch to earn better Aussie salaries and have a better future than you.

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“Technology adoption supports higher productivity growth, higher income growth and increased resources to pay for the things New Zealanders’ value. But the main problem facing New Zealand today isn’t too much technology, it’s not enough,” ...

Federated Farmers is asking nicely - please can the Government immediately extend the timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation so we can find a pathway forward that provides for both the health of the water, the health of people and the health ...

Youthline applauds the Government’s commitment to boosting mental health and addiction programmes and its intention to establish a Suicide Prevention Office but we urge swifter action in relation to implementing the programmes announced in the last budget ...

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